Drain connector for shower bath receptors



March 2, 1948. `B, F rBlRDwh- L-L 2,437,068

DRAIN CONNECTOR FOR SHOWER ATH RECEPTORS Filed 001:. 5, 1944 Fig. 1

BY um? Patented Mar. 2, 1948 DRAIN CONNECTOR FOR SHOWER BATH RECEPTORS Benjamin F. Birdwell, Louisville, Ky., assigner to Porcelain Metals Corporation, Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application October 5, 1944, Serial No. 557,342 7 Claims'. (Cl. 4-146) In manufacturing shower bath receptors of the type having an upper pan anda lower base rim, it has been proposed to make the pan and rim of the lightest gauge sheet metal considered practical, bolt or weld the parts together with the pan resting upon the upper end of the rim, clean the assembly by a pickling operation, coat it with porcelain enamel and then fire it to fuse the enamel. The receptor is then provi-ded with a drain connector comprising a cylindrical casting having: an outwardly turned top fiange resting on the upper face of the rim of the drain opening in the pan; and a jam nut threaded to the outer surface of the casting and cooperating with the top flange to clamp the interposed rim of the drain opening and thereby rigidly secure the connector casting to the receptor. The clamp joint is sealed at the factory by a suitable compound or plastic smeared over the upper face, and a gasket placed against the lower face, of the rim of the drain opening.

In installing the receptor in the eld, it is lowered into its final position wherein the base rim rests upon the foundation floor and the lower end portion of the drain connector casting extends, in outwardly spaced relationship, around the upper end portion of a drain pipe. The annular pipe joint space between the upper end portion of the drain pipe and the surrounding connector casting is then caulked to seal the pipe joint against leakage and thus complete the drainage connection. In the foregoing arrangement, the periphery of the pan is supported through the base rim upon the foundation floor. It is highly desirable to support the pan around the drain connection and it has been proposed to accomplish this by resting the lower end of the connector casting upon the foundation oor. This, however, presents a problem which is diiiicult to overcome.

For example, the floor of the panis always characterized by a condition known as loose metal which prevents it from being rigid and causes it, when pressed, to flex. Because of this loose metal, the floor of the pan, during the firing of the enamel, tends to sag to a varying but permanent degree so that its nal elevation cannot readily be'predetermined; hence the nal elevation of the lower` end of the connector castintr likewise cannot be predetermined. Accordingly it has been found necessary to use a connector casting of a, shortened length such that its lower end will be spaced, above the foundation iioor, a varying extent depending upon the degree of sag and to bridge such space with shims. Here again,

however, the required overall thickness of the shms cannot readily bey determined, except through trial and error, which often involves the repeated removal and replacement of the receptor during the installation process to permit repeated changes in the overall thickness of the shims until the proper thickness is finally determined. Because this detail is bothersome, there is a tendency either to overlook it entirely or perform it improperly so that in many instances the pan is not properly supported around the drain, causing it to deflect when walked upon and, as a result, to be objectionably noisy. Y y

Another objection to the foregoing type of drain connection is that the plumber installing the receptor may neglect to retighten the jam nut in the event it becomes loose prior to or during the installation operation or that the installation may be subject to vibration from the foundation floor or drain pipes and the like, causing the jam nut to become loose during the use of the installation. This results in leakage atthe clamp joint which is highly objectionabler since its correction normally requires the dismantling of the installation or the opening of the Yfoundation iloor from the under side to provide sumcient access to the jam nut for tightening purposes. The clamp joint, and its attendant objections, may be overcome by welding the drain connector to the floor of the pan, but this introduces enameling diiculties which are equally objectionable and does not overcome the diiculties incident to the provision of a central support.

The present invention relates to, and its principal object is to provide, a drain connector which overcomes all of the foregoing objections and limitations.

Another object is to provide a drain connector .which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture,

which eliminates loose metal in the door of the pan and thus enables the final elevation of the lower end of the drain connector to be predetermined, which eliminates the clamp joint and its attendant objections without introducing other objections, which simplies the installation operation and which results uniformly in a rigid, lrmly supported and quiet pan.

A further object is to provide an improved method of producing a receptor pan and drain connector assembly.

A receptor embodying the invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view;

Figure 2 is a section along line 2-2 of Figure 1, with the receptor resting upon the foundation floor;` and Y i Figure 3 is an enlarged section along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

The receptor illustrated conventionally includes: an upper pan I having side walls 2, and a bottom wall or floor 3, which slopes from its periphery downwardly to a central drain opening; a strainer il over the drain opening; a lower base or foundation rim 5, having anupper mar` ginal ange 5, which supports the periphery of the pan l and an inclined lower marginal flange' 7, which rests upon the foundation oor 8; a.

drain opening S in the foundation 'oor; andral drain pipe i9, in the opening 8.

In accordance with my invention, thez-drainconnector is formed integrally with the floor of the The integral connector cannot be .satisfac-v torily formed by a welding operationA since, as`

previously pointed out, welding introduces well known enameling diiculties without overcorn-i ing the problem incident to a central support. Neither can the integralconnector be formed by a drawing operation because-there is insuicient.

metal around the opening` for drawing purposes. But even if a drawn receptor were possible, it will be appreciated thatthe central support problem would remain untouched. I have found, however, that suicient metal, for the formation of an integral connector by a shaping or drawing operation, can be provided around the drain opening area by an operation known as gathering metal and, that, when an integral connector is so formed, all of the foregoingY difficulties are sub-v stantially eliminated without introducing any offsetting disadvantages.

Accordingly, I propose to employ the well known metal gathering process for gathering suicient metal around the drain opening area for connector forming purposes and then to form the gathered metal intov an integral cylindrical connector il. Specically the-process is preferably carried out to form a connector lfhaving an upper outwardly turned ange or rim l2,pwhich is depressed from the body of. the floor 31 sufriciently to place the strainer 4 ator slightly belowY the adjacent licor level, and a lower inwardly turned flange I3 which denes theY pipe receiving.

opening.

An unexpected result of this application of thegathering and forming processisthat it produces a substantially rigid and unyielding iioor 3;which,

during the enamel firing operation, either does i' not sag cr for some other reason does not change i the riginal elevation otthelower end ofthe connector l l. While thezprecise'reasonfo-r this is.

the drain connectorr may be'originally formed so' that its lower end, in this case the flange i3',

lies at a predeterminedlevel corresponding to,V

the level of the foundation floor gslwhereby', when the receptor is installed,l the. floor.y 'willlbe sup ported both peripherally and centrally.

Another advantage of the present invention arises from the fact that itzproduces aconnector, the lower end of which may be usedto provide a central support duringgthe enamelringoperation. Heretofore the. central portion of.4 the receptor floor could not be supported during theA f at ring operation because the connector had to be permitted to drop to whatever elevation the sag permitted. In the present case, with the sag eliminated, the elevation of the connector remains substantially the saine during the firing operation. However, by supporting the floor of the receptor through the connector during the firing operation, a certain degree of strain or pull on the side walls of the pan is eliminated which heretofore has had a tendency to warp the side walls somewhat.

Inv carrying out the invention, a flat blank of sheetmetal is provided having an inner area corresponding to the floor 3 and containing a central drain area, and an outer marginal area corresponding to the walls 2, of the pan I. The oor area is subjected toa metal gathering operation which, while well known, may be outlined as follows: the metal is flexed or pressed in one direction-between the center of the drain area and the outer rectangular marginal area to form a wide shallow bulge extending outwardly in one direction from the major plane of the sheet; it is then ilexed or pressed in the opposite direction to form a slightly narrower but deeper bulge extending outwardly in the opposite direction from the major plane of the original sheet; and steps of this character are continued until a suinciently narrow and deep'bulge is obtained from which the inal connector may be readily formed as desired either by an operation involving shaping the connector and providing a bot- Itorn opening or by a drawing operation in which a small hole is formed at the bottom or center of the bulge and a drawing operation performed which draws the metal to the desired shape and, at the same time, enlarges the bottom hole to drain pipe receiving proportions.- Where adrawing operation is performed, the side walls and sloping iloor can be drawn to final shape at the same time. After the original blank has thus been processed to finished form, it is'united to the base rim to form the final assembly which is then pickledenanieled and fired.

An enameled receptor constructedD in accordance with the present invention can be installed simply by lowering it in alignment with the drain pipe opening until the lower marginal flange T of the base, and the inwardly turnedV flange l3'of the connector, rest on the foundation floor. The

annularI pipe joint space abovef'the connector ange i3 and between the upper end portion of the drainpipe it andthe surrounding connector ll may then be caullred to seal the pipe jointf against leakage and complete the drainage connection.

Where the caullzing is performed', carelessly, orv under extreme pressure, there is a possibility that the enamel on the connector, 0r the. connector itself, maybe damaged. To provide against this, I propose to place or nest within the connector a protecting sleeve' id having, an outwardly' turned flange l5 at itsupper end andv an'in-wardly turned' flange il? at its lower end. The nestingslee'vev I- preferably is 'made of a rust proof metal, such as brass, copper orstainless steeland may be secured in place by ainastic 72 It may be ad-l ditionally anchored by providingitwitli a nurnber of openings it to receive'caulking'materiall during the caullring operation. ItsI upper flange is provides a convenien-tan-chorage for the strainer di although the latter may otherwise beanchored by well known spring pressed lmeans frictionally engaging the yconnectorwalls. Iidesired, its lower iiange ld may bedownwardly turned as r9 to formv a :dared mouthwhich facilitates the alignment of the receptor with the drain pipe.

The present invention not only eliminates the diiculties incident to the clamp joint and central support without introducing oisetting disadvantages, but it also: substantially reduces the manufacturing cost since the integral connector may be quickly and inexpensively made at a cost equal approximately to 20% or less of the cost of a cast connector; substantially eliminates the breakage to which a cast connector is subject; nd produces an exceptionally rigid and quiet oor.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. An improved shower bath receptor of the type having a floor of sheet metal of relatively light gauge and containing a drain opening cornprising: a metal connector integrally connected to the oor to depend from the periphery of the drain opening, said connector being composed of iioor metal.

2. The receptor :of claim 1 wherein: the connector has an upper outwardly turned flange, which is integrally connected to but depressed from the adjacent portion of the floor, and a lower inwardly turned flange which denes a drain pipe receiving opening.

3. An improved receptor having a sheet metal floor containing a drain opening comprising: a cylindrical drain connector depending from and integrally connected to the rim defining the drain opening; a protective sleeve nested within the connector and adapted to receive and be secured in sealing relation with a drain pipe; and means between the sleeve and connector for anchoring the sleeve to the connector and sealing any space therebetween against leakage.

4. An improved shower bath receptor pan of the type adapted for connection to a drain pipe, comprising: a single continuous body of sheet metal which extends inwardly from the periphery of the pan and slopes downwardly to a drain section, to form a downwardly sloping floor having a drain opening at the drain section, and then extends annularly downward from the drain opening, to form a depending sleeve-like connector open at its lower end and providing, in its lower-end portion, a central area for receiving said drain pipe projecting upwardly through its lower end opening and a surrounding caulking space for receiving caulking material to seal the connection between the connector and pipe, said caulking space being accessible for caulking purposes through the drain opening of said floor.

5. The pan of claim 4 wherein said single continuous body of sheet metal also extends annularly inward from the lower end of the connector to form a drain pipe receiving opening and to provide a bottom wall for the caulking Space.

6. An improved pan for a shower bath receptor oct the type adapted for connection to a drain pipe and having means, supported upon a suitable foundation at one level, for engaging the pan adjacent its periphery to support the pan at a predetermined higher level, comprising: a single continuous body of sheet metal which extends inwardly from the periphery of the pan and slopes downwardly to a drain section, to form a downwardly sloping floor having a drain opening, and then extends annularly downward from the drain opening substantially to the foundation level to provide a central support for the pan and to form a depending sleeve-like connector open at its lower end and providing, in its lower-end portion, a central area for receiving said drain pipe projecting upwardly through the foundation level and through the lower end of the connector and a surrounding caulking space for receiving caulking material to seal the connection between the connector and drain pipe, said caulking space being accessible for caulking purposes through the drain opening of said floor.

7. The pan of claim 6 wherein said single oontinuous body oi sheet metal also extends annularly inward from the lower end of the connector to form an inwardly directed iiange having a drain pipe receiving opening and providing a bottom wall for the caulking space and a seat for supporting the floor of the pan about the drain opening upon a foundation support at the foundation level.

BENJAMIN F. BIRDWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 181,625 Blessing Aug. 29, 1876 830,243 Magowan Sept. 4, 1906 999,858 Payne Aug. 8, 1911 1,040,567 Newell Oct. 8, 1912 1,112,200 Dupont Sept. 29, 1914 1,150,231 Smith Aug. 17, 1915 1,684,503 Nilson Sept. 18, 1928 1,723,410 Dickert Aug. 6, 1929 1,753,262 Cromwell Apr. 8, 1930 1,766,125 Jahns June 24, 1930 2,055,173 Deubelbeiss Sept. 22, 1936 2,133,497 Winston Oct. 18, 1938 2,197,874 Myers Apr. 23, 1940 2,282,329 Johnson May 12, 1942 2,282,362 Johnson May 12, 1942 2,287,419 Duval June 23, 1942 

